From Flame and Ash

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “That’s Seer magic there,” Ridley said, his voice soft. “Powerful Seer magic.”

  “Very much so,” Justise said as he stood up and looked over Easton’s shoulder. “And whatever blacksmith made this knew what he was doing. I’d say someone in the Water territory needs you.”

  I looked up at Justise for a moment before glancing at Easton.

  “What?”

  He ran his thumb along the inner skin of my wrist, and we both sucked in a breath before he let go of me.

  He cleared his throat. “If that is what Alura gave you, and if my uncle’s right—and since he’s the best blacksmith in the entire Maison realm, I would assume he’s right—that means that you need to head to the Lumiére Kingdom.” He met my gaze again. “Soon.”

  I let out a breath, trying to collect my thoughts. “Okay. That’s…I guess there’s no, like, phone calls here to tell me that they need me?”

  “No, you’re not in the human realm anymore,” Easton said sharply.

  “I know that. I’ve known that for a long time. I just don’t understand how you guys communicate.” I was shouting now and had pushed back in my seat so I could go at Easton face-to-face. The others stood as well as if waiting for the fight, not knowing exactly what they were going to do.

  “We communicate through magic, and through other means. All I know is that’s Seer magic. So, it might not be someone communicating directly with you.” He paused. “Or, it could be Rosamond saying she needs you. Who knows? But if Alura gave that to you, then you need to head to the Lumiére Kingdom.”

  “Why do you keep saying if Alura gave it to me? What makes Alura giving it to me so special?” I paused, something clicking. “Is she a Seer?”

  Easton shook his head. “No. But her secret’s not mine to tell.” I hated when they said things like that. Over and over again I heard the riddles. “All that matters now is that you need to go to the Lumiére Kingdom, and you can’t go alone.” Teagan cleared his throat.

  “I’ll go. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

  Warmth filled me at the thought of Teagan—or anyone—wanting to help me. But I didn’t want him to get hurt.

  “I’m going, too,” Wyn added before she looked over at Teagan and they nodded at each other.

  “I’ll go, as well,” Arwin said, shrugging. “I want to go. I want to help you, Lyric. I just hope you want me to go with you.”

  I cleared my throat, a little nervous. “You’ll all be going into an enemy kingdom. Are you sure I shouldn’t just go by myself? Rhodes and Rosamond know me. I should be safe. I don’t know if I should bring Braelynn, but still…”

  “Braelynn can stay here,” Easton growled. “As for you? Who knows if you’ll be safe? You know, some people don’t want the Spirit Priestess to win. You saw that yourself with Lore.” Easton spat out the man’s name, and I refused to take a step back even though parts of me wanted to. “The three of them will go with you, and they’ll protect you. And they’ll keep up with your training.”

  Ridley sighed before looking at his nephew. “You can’t go.” He paused, and I froze. Easton? Going? There was no way Easton could go. He had responsibilities here. And while it might make me feel safer—something I was not going to think about just then—he couldn’t come with us. It wouldn’t be safe…for him.

  “Yeah, I know,” Easton said softly.

  Ridley spoke again. “But you know you need to.”

  Easton nodded. And I blinked. “I know that, too,” he said softly.

  “I…I’ll be fine. I’m not their enemy. If this is all Seer magic, and I’m supposed to be in the Lumiére Kingdom, I will be okay. There’s a reason I need to be there.”

  “That’s fine. But you’re not going alone. Not now. I’m going with you. That’s final.”

  Then he turned on his heel and stormed past me. I wondered what was going on.

  The others looked just as confused as I felt, but then we were moving, everyone going to pack and do whatever they needed to prepare for the long journey. I just stood there, looking at the uncles and wondering how all of this had happened.

  The water charm on my bracelet burned again, and I looked down at it, knowing it was calling me to the Water territory. I’d never been there before, but now I was going to see it.

  I was going to see the Lumiére.

  I was going to see Rhodes.

  Chapter Nine

  I felt like I had been at the Obscurité Kingdom forever, even though it had only been a few weeks. And now, I was packing up again, wondering how long I would be gone. Or if I would ever come back.

  I wasn’t actually thinking about my own death, the idea of mortality and what would come from a battle in which I was ill prepared for.

  However, that was always in the back of my mind. I couldn’t really help it because I had watched one friend die, only to come back as my so-called Familiar. I had watched another friend come back as if she had been changed into something totally different. I watched the queen die for me. I watched the knight die at my hands. And I had died myself. Only to come back, as well.

  So, the idea of death and what came after was constantly on my mind. Even if it wasn’t the primary focus of my day.

  “Okay, stop thinking about death, just get to work. I need to pack. I need to make sure Braelynn is fine, and then I need to be on my merry way.”

  Braelynn looked up at me, and I swore she was smirking. How could a cat smirk? Well, other than their normal cat face, because sometimes they looked like they were always smirking.

  “What? I’m getting ready for you.” And talking to myself, but here we were. “I just need to get packed, and then I’m leaving. But I’m not leaving you for long. I promise.”

  Braelynn looked at me again before she turned her back on me, raising her tail in the air and showing me her butt. Seriously? We had definitely crossed a boundary in our friendship. I’d thought the major one had been when I cleaned up her poop in the litter box, but apparently, that wasn’t it. It was now, when she showed her displeasure by sauntering away, her butt facing me.

  It was a little ridiculous.

  “Knock knock, are you ready?” Wyn asked as she walked into my room. She looked around, surveying what I held, and I wondered why she always did that. It wasn’t like I really had anything to my name these days. Everything I really owned, even the mesh jacket I had loved with all of my heart, was back in the human realm. The only things I had left were what Alura had given me from Rosamond and Rhodes’ house, and the small things that I had picked up in the weeks I had been here. I had no money, no real clothes or personal effects. Really, the only thing that I had that was mine was a bracelet, and that had been a gift.

  I was here to train, and apparently, to save the world, and I had to rely on everyone else’s charity in order to do that and survive.

  I didn’t know why I felt so grumpy about that just then. Maybe it was the fact that it was finally hitting me that I was once again completely out of my depth.

  “I’m almost ready. I think. I’m not really good about packing for long trips where I’ve no idea where I’m going or what the weather’s going to be like, especially when I don’t really have anything to pack.”

  Wyn just smiled, shaking her head, her long hair framing her face. She was beautiful, seriously gorgeous, but she didn’t give me that clutch in my belly that Rhodes did. Or even Easton.

  No, I wasn’t going to let my thoughts go down those strange paths.

  “Well, considering you have mostly battle leathers and training clothes, you should bring all of that. And you should be able to fit it all in your pack. You are your own weapon, so you’re good there. And the uncles are already packing up food and water for us that we’ll split between the group. Just make sure you have that bracelet of yours, and make sure Braelynn is all set up for the uncles to take care of her.”

  Braelynn let out a little mewling purr, and I didn’t know if she was happy or sad that she wasn’t going.

&nb
sp; And then I remembered exactly why Braelynn might be acting like this.

  Luken.

  Luken was an Air Wielder and Rhodes’ best friend and fellow warrior. He lived in the Lumière Kingdom, and I knew he was probably near Rhodes himself. He’d also been very close to Braelynn and had grieved over her so openly and vividly that I had broken down. They had only known each other for a short while, but I felt as if they loved each other. But he had walked away because he had to go with Rhodes, and Braelynn had been forced to go with me.

  I had no idea what he felt for my friend now, nor could I figure out what Braelynn felt for him.

  But, like me and Rhodes, their ill-fated love connection hadn’t actually worked out.

  “I kind of want her to come with us, but it’s not safe. I know there are…people she needs to see in the Lumière Kingdom, but I know she can’t come.”

  Braelynn jumped on the edge of the bed, and I petted her, scratching beneath her chin.

  “The uncles will take care of her. She’ll be safe here, and it’s a reason for you to come back.” Wyn gave me a smile as she said it, and then I frowned.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, we’re headed to where your first friends are. Where your real friends are.” She shrugged, and I wanted to reach out and hug her, to let her know that those words weren’t truly the case anymore since she was my friend, but she continued before I had the chance to do so. “Even if we ignore all the reasons you’re here in the first place, and the destiny that surrounds us all, the people you connected to first live there. After all, your man is there.” She winked then, and I winced.

  “Rhodes isn’t mine.” I was too quick to say that, and her brows rose.

  “Okay, I won’t touch on that again. Unless you want me to. But, either way, Braelynn will be here for you. So, that means you have to come back. With us. Even for a short time.”

  “I’ve never been to the Lumière Kingdom, Wyn. Of course, I want to come back here. It’s the only place that almost feels like home.” I shook my head. “But I really can’t think that far ahead. Because if I do, I’ll start to stress out about the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “Your Wielding is getting far better. You’re strong, Lyric.”

  I finished packing as we spoke, needing to keep my hands busy. “You say that, and maybe I’m training well, but I don’t know what comes next. And because of that, it’s a little stressful. And because I don’t know how I’m supposed to unite the kingdoms and make everything okay, I’m just going to work on the here and now and take the next steps that I need to when I need to. So, yes, I’m coming back to the Obscurité Kingdom.” At least, I hoped I would be. Because I had to. Braelynn was here. And I didn’t want to die. “But that doesn’t mean I’m actually going to stay here. I don’t know if I’m going to stay in the Lumiére Kingdom either. I don’t know if I should just stay in the Spirit territory and hide there. Or maybe I should go home and forget all of this ever happened. Not that home in the human realm really feels like home anymore since my parents are gone and don’t even remember me. There’s really nothing there for me anymore.”

  “You sound even more stressed than usual,” Wyn said, her words careful.

  “Yes, stress is just the tip of the iceberg. But, like I said, I don’t want to think about all of that so, let’s just make sure I’m all packed, and then we can head out and meet the guys.”

  “Speaking of guys, I’m really glad you’re coming.” Wyn leaned over and helped me finish packing the last of my list.

  “Well, I kind of have to. It’s my calling.” I gave her a weird look.

  She shook her head. “Yes, I get that. But it’s kind of nice to hang out with another girl. There are a lot of female warriors, don’t get me wrong. There are many talented female Wielders who are even stronger than I am. But I’m in Easton’s inner circle, and because he keeps it such a tight-knit group, you and Arwin are pretty much the only newer people. So, yes, it’s kind of nice having another girl.”

  “Well, I’m glad you want me to be here. It makes me feel needed.” Beyond the whole being needed to save the world thing. Again, I wasn’t going to think about that.

  I picked up my bag and nodded at Braelynn. Soon, the three of us were walking out into the throne room. I didn’t come here often, mostly because Easton hardly ever sat on his throne. Therefore, this place didn’t have a lot of people in it. But this was where we had all decided to meet before we started our journey.

  Braelynn left me quickly and walked over to Justise before hopping into his lap. There were other chairs in the room other than the throne itself, so Justise was sitting there, going over paperwork of some sort as we all milled around. Arwin and Teagen were already there, their packs on their backs. Ridley was pacing, going through something in his head. I figured it was either just nerves or he was working out a problem with his healing. Ridley did that often, and I found it quite endearing. He was never not thinking, much like his husband and his nephew.

  “Hey there, little girl,” Justise said, and I looked up, a little worried that he had called me that since he never had before. Then I realized that he was talking to Braelynn in his lap and not me. “I bet you’re going to miss your friend and the rest of them,” he whispered, even though we could all hear. It was very unlike Justise to be cooing over a cat, even though Brae really wasn’t just a feline. Apparently, there were different layers to all of us.

  “I’m very sorry that we have to leave you,” I said again to Braelynn, hoping that she would listen to me. She just gave me a glance and then burped. An actual burp. Only it wasn’t really a burp because a little trail of smoke came out of her mouth.

  I blinked, wondering if I had imagined it. Then she stretched out on Justise’s lap and curled into a ball. I had no idea what had just happened. No one looked as if anything weird had happened, so maybe I’d imagined the whole thing. But I was sure there had literally been a little ring, a puff of smoke coming out of my best friend’s mouth.

  How did a cat with bat wings breathe fire?

  No, she hadn’t, I was just all in my head and thinking too hard about it.

  There was nothing weird about Braelynn.

  Other than the fact that she was my reincarnated best friend and now a cat with bat wings.

  Everything else was normal. There had been no smoke.

  Easton stomped into the room soon after I went through my mental tirade and glowered at all of us.

  “Are we ready to go?” he asked, tightening his pack over his shoulders. I looked at my bag on the floor next to Wyn’s and nodded.

  There was something I needed to do first, though, and it wasn’t going to be pleasant. “I am. But you can’t go.”

  Easton’s brow rose very haughtily. “Oh? Are you telling me what I can and cannot do?”

  “I’m not actually telling you that, other than the fact that you are the king of the Obscurité Kingdom. You’re not supposed to be going through the Lumiére Kingdom at all. The others can help me. You don’t need to be there.”

  Everyone was oddly quiet as I faced off with Easton, and I had no idea what that was about.

  “I’m going. And that’s the end of it.”

  “You’re not my king,” I reminded him. “And while I’m grateful that you want to be there to help me, I don’t want you to get hurt, and I don’t want this kingdom to lose another one of their leaders because of me.” I shut my mouth as soon as I said it, my pulse racing, and my eyes wide.

  I swore you could hear a pin drop in the room with how quiet it got. I hadn’t meant to say that. I’d been very careful about not mentioning his mother or that I had been there when she died. Or the fact that I was the reason she was dead. I didn’t want to remind them all that I was at the middle of it. That it was my fault Cameo was gone.

  No one spoke as Easton stepped up to me, placing one foot in front of the other with intent. The glare on his face looked like it hurt, and his jaw was so tight that
I was afraid he might break his back molars.

  “Lyric,” he began, his voice low, deep. I was a little scared, but I still raised my chin, not afraid. Or at least pretending I wasn’t. “I’m going. I’m going to protect you. And maybe I have other reasons of my own for going. You can’t stop me. My kingdom will be just fine under Justise’s and Ridley’s attention. They will care for the people. I trust them with everything that I have. Even your little friend, that cat over there, will help protect the kingdom. I can leave because you are important. And because I have reasons. So, don’t think that I’m not aware of the danger. That I’m not aware of what my role is. I live it, Lyric. I’m keenly aware of who isn’t here anymore. And why that is.”

  I swallowed hard, the Air Wielding between my fingers going soft. I hadn’t meant to start using my magic, but I was scared, his voice so calm, so controlled. I knew there had to be something far deeper beneath those words.

  “Do you understand, Lyric?” He paused, those dark eyes boring into me. “I need to hear the words, Lyric.”

  Why did he keep saying my name like that? So determined. So…unusual. “I understand. But I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Then he laughed, though I didn’t think it actually reached his soul—it definitely didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t need to worry about me. You’re the one we’re all worried about.”

  He stepped away, and it was as if a bubble had burst, suddenly letting the sound and the warmth of the room fill us again. At first, during those moments, it had felt as if it were just the two of us. But everyone else had been watching, and I had wondered what they’d seen.

  “Wait,” I said, reaching out and then jerking my hand back. I did not touch him, ever. That was somehow an unsaid rule, and I was being very good about it. “Your words just hit me. What do you mean, Braelynn can protect the kingdom?”

  Braelynn let out a little hiss and then turned her back to me. I wondered what the hell was going on.

  “I said that? Interesting.”